Surveys show Americans expecting good year ahead

As Donald Trump approaches his second year in office, opinion polls show a majority of Americans are upbeat about 2018 prospects.

A pair of opinion polls released Tuesday show that a majority of Americans are optimistic about the year ahead, although there remains some division along party lines about how good things will get.

Rasmussen Reports revealed that 56 percent of Americans contacted in a telephone and online survey think 2018 will be at least as good a year as was 2017, while only 18 percent think this year will be a poor one.

Adding some reinforcement to that, an Elway Pollin Washington shows that Evergreen State voters are “slightly more optimistic” with 49 percent expecting a better year for the country and 53 percent looking for a better year for the country. What makes the Elway survey significant is that Washington is considered a “blue” state, and that according to the reported demographic, the Elway group contacted 43 percent independents, 33 percent Democrats and 24 percent Republicans. An overwhelming majority of survey respondents were in Western Washington, while only 20 percent were in conservative Eastern Washington.

That’s an interesting result considering that Donald Trump is in the White House, so does it mean that liberals in one of the nation’s most left-leaning regions – the Puget Sound area – think the country will do better this year under his administration?

On the state level, 56 percent of Republicans think things will improve and 57 percent of Democrats agree, the Elway survey revealed.

According to Rasmussen, younger adults “are more optimistic about 2018 than their elders.” Additionally, 81 percent of Republicans expect the next 12 months to be “at least a good year,” while only 39 percent of Democrats and 5 percent of independents agree. Men are more positive than women about the next 12 months, and “Wealthier Americans are more likely than those in lower-income brackets to think 2018 will be one of the best years ever,” Rasmussen said.

Still, Rasmussen said 55 percent of likely U.S. voters think the country is headed in the wrong direction, but 40 percent – the highest number since mid-April – think the nation is on the right track.

In Washington State, according to the Elway Poll, 87 percent of Republicans think things will get better in the country while 73 percent of Democrats expect things to get worse. Eighty-four percent of Republicans think things are looking better for their households while only 56 percent of Democrats think so.